


My Brother, The Robot (a Gravity Falls AU)

by ScorpioSnoopy666



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: F/M, Gen, Inspired by Small Wonder, Mabel and Dip, Mabel the Mechanic XD, Robo-Dip, Robot AU, Robot Dipper, Secrets, Sentient AI, also available on Wattpad, malfunction, rps helped too, wants to be human
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-18 12:34:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14852841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScorpioSnoopy666/pseuds/ScorpioSnoopy666
Summary: *Based on some Shamchat RPs, inspired by Steam Powered Giraffe and Small Wonder*What if Dipper was not human?What if the Pines boy we all know and love was hiding a secret?The Pines Family is smart, a lot of people know that; sales, science, engineering, even crafts.But something has been kept concealed to everyone but Mabel and her parents.Dipper Pines, Mabel's 'twin brother' is not a human; instead he's an experimental steam powered robot with a teal-coloured core where his heart ought to be, and a silver tongue.He was invented by none other than Mr Jeffery Pines, Mabel and Dipper's 'father' and a brilliant inventor; the mechanical boy was always his greatest success.Over the time he'd been in the family, the automaton slowly got more and more sentient with each passing day, he and Mabel working together to conceal the secret from the town, even their great uncles.Mabel wants her brother to be happy.Dipper wonders what it's like to be human.Will they both get their dreams or will everything malfunction?*Gravity Falls is not owned by me. All rights reserved. I only own this story idea*





	1. *Prologue* In The Beginning

"Mommy, when's Daddy coming home?" a six-year-old Mabel Pines asked innocently while she played with her dolls and stuffed animals, Ducktective playing on the TV screen in the background.

Mabel was wearing a fluffy sweater with a unicorn on it, pink skirt as well as white socks and pink trainers, her hair in cute pigtails. Her green eyes shimmered when she looked up at her mother, hugging her cat stuffie close to her chest.  
Her mother, known as Lucy Pines, hummed to herself as she cleaned the living room, stopping when her little daughter asked her the question. A soft smile graced her face as she walked over, her long brown curls whipping about her shoulders.  
Little Mabel was so much like her mother; some said she was the spitting image of the kindly nurse, and sounded similar to her as a young child.

"He will be home shortly, sweetness. Then we can all have dinner together. I'm making you and papa's favourite" Lucy cooed, crouching down and giving her daughter a kiss on the head.

Mabel gasped excitedly, her feet tapping on the floor a little.  
"Spag bol?!" she asked, grin never fading.

"Mm-hm" Lucy hummed, nodding her head and almost falling backwards as she was attacked with a surprisingly strong hug from the little girl, who was chirping "Thank you! thank you! thank you!" over and over again.  
"Aaw, it's no problem, sweetie pie. Now you carry on playing, I'll j-"

Before Lucy could finish her sentence, the phone rang. She stood up and walked to it, picking it up.  
"One second, Mabel. Hello?" she greeted.

"Hello, darling. How are my two greatest girls doing today?" a male's voice replied on the other end. Lucy giggled.  
"We're doing just great, honey! Mabel's excited to see you" Lucy replied, happy to hear her husband's voice; Jeffery Pines worked long hours at a robotics lab known as "Orion Robotics Ltd", and had lately been staying after hours to finish a project off. He was smart and had an air around him that made him seem approachable yet official, dressed in a three-piece suit.

"Is that Daddy?!" Mabel exclaimed happily, Jeffery letting out a chuckle from the other end of the line.  
"Yes, dear! I'll let you say hi" Lucy said with a smile, Mabel taking the phone and holding it to her ear.

"Hi Daddy!"  
"Hello, little one. I'm so pleased to hear you today. Daddy missed you lots" Jeffrey told her, making Mabel giggle.

"I missed you too, Daddy! is work hard now?" she asked, the young girl looking curious.  
"It is indeed, darling. But don't worry, Daddy has a surprise for you and Mommy later, would you like that?" Yet another giggle answered the man's question, followed by an eager " Yeah, yeah, yeah!"  
"I thought you would" Jeffrey laughed merrily. "What is the one thing you wanted most in the whole world?"  
"A unicorn?!?!" Mabel squealed loudly.  
"Something a little smaller than a unicorn, sweetness" Jeffrey Pines replied, having to have held the receiver away from his ear at Mabel's loud yell.  
"Ummm......a brother or sister!" Mabel gasped. "Is the stork gonna visit us?"

 

Both mother and father chuckled at Mabel's innocence. She was just so darn cute.

"Not quite, Mabel. Now, be a good girl and pass me back to Mommy, ok?" he requested, Mabel saying goodbye to him and handing the phone back to Lucy, who stole a look before walking out into the hallway.

 

"What did Mabel mean by having a sibling?" she hissed quietly, a little worried.  
"Now, now, Lucy, calm down. I'll explain more later. It's akin to the project I've been working on all those nights. I finally worked up the courage to discuss it with my boss, but he's still a little sceptical. Even so, he's still letting me build and study it, though it's still in the experimental stage. Look, I'll be coming home soon, and I'll bring it over, alright?" Jeffrey asked her, sounding nervous but excited at the same time as if he was about to meet a famous celebrity.

 

"Alright, dearest. I believe you, but be careful coming home. I love you" Lucy sighed fondly.

 

"Love you too, Luce. 'Bye."

 

"Bye."

 

As she hung up the phone, Mrs Pines couldn't stop thinking about the so-called 'project'.

 

What did he mean by 'experimental stage?' why did Mabel ask if she was going to have a brother or sister?

 

Guess they would find out soon enough....  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"I'm home, girls!" Jeffrey Pines called, closing the door and placing his briefcase by the door. He carried something wrapped in his lab coat in one arm.  
"Daddyyyyyyyy!" Mabel squealed, running to him and hugging his leg.  
"Hi, honey! how's my favourite Mabel? did you have a good day today?" the father asked with a laugh, tousling his daughter's hair with his free hand.  
"Yeah! Mommy and I played lots of games, and we are gonna have our favourite food tonight! yay!" she chirped, her dad's heart melting at her words.  
"That's fantastic, love" he replied, adjusting his hold on the bundle in his arms.

Mabel tilted her head in confusion, her green eyes glinting in the hallway light. Lucy walked out into the hall to stand behind Mabel.  
"What's that?" she asked, pointing to the lab coat-covered object.  
"Ah! it's a surprise" Mr Pines said with a wink, carrying the thing into the living room and laying it on the sofa.

Underneath the lab coat was a young boy, seeming to be the same age as Mabel, his eyes closed and ringed with black. His skin was pale-ish but looked metallic, with thin lines and curves to display the different joints and seams in his body, many of which could be hidden under clothing. He also had what looked like discrete cheek vents, a faint ticking sound coming from his chest.  
Other than that, he looked like a normal child, wearing a green jacket and blue jeans, his synthetic brown hair fluffy and a little unkempt from the breeze outside.

 

Both the females looked in, hearing Jeffery Pines mumbling to himself.

A switch was flipped and the robot boy's eyes shot open, flashing a brilliant emerald green.  
Steam escaped from his mouth and cheek vents with an alarming hiss, making Mabel flinch and hide her face in her mother's skirt, the clouds of steam disappearing in the air after a few seconds.

"It worked! it worked! Yes! this is fantastic!" Mr Pines exclaimed, rubbing his hands together gleefully.  
"What on Earth do you mean?" Lucy asked, cradling Mabel in her arms protectively.  
"My dears, we are about to witness history. All those long nights have paid off, and I'd like you to meet Mason" Jeffery gestured to the automaton child -who'd glanced around the room before getting up, standing to attention- his wife and daughter stared in amazement at the boy.  
"Mason? that's a cute name" Lucy murmured.  
"Yes it is! Stands for Manufactured Automatonic System of Operational Neural-networks. But for short, he's called Mason. He's a steam-powered robot!" he declared proudly.

"Dipper!" Mabel gasped, the parents looking at her, then at the robot male.

 

Mabel had spotted the company brand logo on "Mason's" forehead, the logo consisting of what looked like The Big Dipper in red.  
"Oh no! the branding must have had a glitch to make this error! I'll have to take him apart and fix him" Jeffery lamented, kneeling down at the child's height.  
'Mason' stared blankly, optics shifting to look at his inventor.

"No, no. I like it. It's like a unique birthmark. You can even say that if people start to get suspicious" Lucy suggested, unable to stop looking at the young robot.  
"Oh, doesn't he look just wonderful, Jeff?" she cooed, her husband straightening up and standing next to her.  
"He does indeed, Lucy. Mabel, would you like to say hi to him?"  
Cautiously, Mabel shuffled over, feeling the automaton's optics scanning her with each step she took.

"Hi, I'm Mabel! I'm your new sister! Can you talk?" she asked, hands behind her back.  
"Yes, I can talk" the male spoke up, Lucy jumping with a start at the sound of his voice; it was not computerized, but still sounded like a machine, though his voice seemed to strike a sense of similarity.  
He sounded almost like Jeffery's voice when he was a boy, only more robotic.

"You're cute! wanna play with me?" Mabel squeaked, Mason nodding once. The motion generated a series of clicks coming from his gears, though the little girl didn't seem to mind.

"Come on, let's go! follow me!" she squealed, running up to her room, Mason walking behind her obediently, clicks and whirs escaping as he moved.  
Neither the inventor nor his wife could predict what would happen in the future for both Mason and Mabel, neither did they want to.

 

All they hoped was that both of them were happy, and would grow closer as the years passed.


	2. Great Uncle Stan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mabel and Dipper are now 12 years of age, their parents sending them to Gravity Falls. Dipper hungers for more information, Mabel longing for new friends. Hopefully this trip will bring more misadventures and new people :)  
> When they arrive at the shack, they have to be careful not to let the humans catch on to Dipper's secret

It was hard to believe that six years had passed since Mason, or Dipper as Mabel nicknamed him, had been brought home and each day the robot seemed to gain more and more intelligent as well as show aspects of a developing personality.  
He seemed cautious, a little more reserved than his human sister at times, and tended to spend a lot of time in books and online to get as much input as possible in his memory banks. There was the odd quirk and glitch here and there, but nothing too severe....yet.

A couple of days prior to this one, the 'twins' were told that they were both going to be spending time with their great uncle in the lumber town of Gravity Falls, Oregon.  
Neither of them had gone to Oregon before; Mabel was more excited than a lottery winner, and Dipper was particularly interested.  
More things to study, more input for his system.

It was fantastic!

The twins walked side by side, getting on the bus and settling on a seat.  
Mabel and Dipper talked about what Gravity Falls would be like, Dipper asking questions about Stan, and Mabel trying her best to answer them.  
Partway through the ride, Mabel dozed off, head resting on Dipper's cool metal shoulder, not caring he was harder than a rock to sleep on.  
Dipper glanced at her with a clockwork-like click, then looked back out the window, his boiler humming softly and gears ticking under the fabric of his shirt.  
It wasn't long before he powered down, sinking into stasis like a stick into quicksand.

"Last stop! Gravity Falls, everyone off!" the bus driver barked, Dipper immediately reactivating.  
Turning to Mabel, he gently shook her shoulder to wake her.  
"Mabel, wake up. We're here" Dipper reported, Mabel mumbling groggily as she opened her eyes.  
"Mmmnrgh..Dipperrr, I'm still tired" she whinged, rubbing her eyes sleepily.  
The corners of the automaton's mouth twitched in amusement, reflecting a small smile for the briefest of seconds before his expression was neutral again.

Mabel shuffled off the seat, dragging her hefty suitcase out from under the seat, Dipper sporting a vast camper's backpack full of tools, water, clothes and other things.  
His left hand curled around the handle, pulling the heavy luggage upright effortlessly, Mabel grinning.  
"Thanks, Ro-Bro!" she chirped, though it sounded similar to "bro-bro" if anyone else heard it, the brunette ran off the bus with Dipper carting the luggage behind her.  
Once they were off the bus, they made their way towards the Shack, Mabel now back in possession of her case.  
"Here, let me" Dipper spoke, though Mabel laughed.  
"Dipdop, I'll carry it this time. Thanks anyways, but I think Mom and Dad would be kinda upset if they find out I overworked you."  
This remark was met by an eyebrow raise from Dipper.  
She flashed a braces-filled grin and continued towards what looked like a higgeldy-piggeldy wooden house straight from a story book.

A question-mark weather vane rotated in the summer breeze, the massive sign on top of the roof had the "S" missing in "Mystery Shack" and various other wooden signs pointed to this obscure building.  
A totem pole was planted outside in the grass, multi-coloured bunting tied to one end of the roof to a far-off tree.

Both the twins stared in amazement at the tourist trap, stats and data rushing before Dipper's photoreceptors, his vision clearing slightly when Mabel dragged him to the door -though it was very hard work, since Dipper was so strong and, of course, made of iron and tin- a small bit of makeup coming off on her hand.

Mabel had coated Dipper in makeup when still at home so he looked more natural, neglecting his eyes, just in case anyone asked.  
She gulped, latching onto his hand again so it looked like the pair just couldn't bear to let go.  
She felt Dipper's fingers curl around the warm flesh of her hand, squeezing it surprisingly gently.  
Silently, both Dipper and Mabel sauntered into the gift shop to see a tall yet overweight man changing the light bulbs and a redhead at the till with her feet kicked up on the counter. She was reading a magazine, idly flicking through the pages.  
Dipper turned his gaze to her and almost malfunctioned on the spot!  
Optics wide, a small hiss escaping his cheek vents along with steam that vanished in thin air.

"Did the radiator spring a leak, dude?" the man murmured, looking over and seeing the twins.  
"Mr Pines, there's some customers!" he called dutifully, turning his attention back to the twins.  
However, before he could say another word, a grey-haired man wearing a black suit and red fez strode into the room.  
"Ah! Welcome to the Mystery Shack. You can call me-"  
"Mr Stan Pines, also known as Mr Mystery?" Dipper interrupted, looking up at the man with a blank look. Mabel copied the action.  
"What are ya, a cop?" Stan remarked, giving Dipper a suspicious gaze.  
"No, no. We're your family" Mabel replied, chuckling nervously.  
"We're Dipper and Mabel Pines" she added.  
"Oh, I see! Nice to meetcha, kids! As your brother said, I'm Stan. The cashier over there is Wendy-" the female gave a lazy wave, though she winked at them "-and the fix-it guy is Soos." Soos gave them a quick tip of his peaked cap.  
"Sup, hambones? If you ever need something fixed, jus' give me a call!"

Dipper nodded, looking a little more calm.  
"Will d-do, Soos" he said, seeing his 'twin' had sprinted behind Stan to their room.  
He glanced at the luggage left behind -resisting the urge to roll his photoreceptors- and took hold of the case, carting it upstairs along with his own things.

Soos and Wendy stared wide-eyed.  
How could a young boy be so strong?!  
Something strange was going on.  
They could feel it.  
Come to think of it...what WAS with that blank expression? It was almost as if Dipper was devoid of any emotion, although he seemed happy when addressing Soos.  
What on Earth was going on?

"Mabel, y-y-you forgot your case again" Dipper sighed, frowning a little at his glitchy stammer. Mabel looked up at him and giggled.  
"Whoops! Sorry, bro-bro. Silly me!" she exclaimed, dragging it over to her bed before peeking out the door.  
The coast was clear.  
Dipper reached into his bag and retrieved a flask of water, the automaton sipping it to quell the churning sounds made by his boiler.  
"Everything operational? No signs of errors or problems with your gears?" Mabel asked, knowing nobody was there.  
"Affirmative. I'm just lacking water" Dipper replied calmly, gulping down the last of the water in the flask.  
"Ooh, yeah! I'll go refresh it for you. Stay here and wait for me" she ordered, taking the flask out of Dipper's metal hand and speedwalking out of the room.

Dipper placed his bag on the floor beside the bed, waiting for Mabel while scanning the room for data.  
Everything seemed normal, even down to the rickety rafters and mouldy splotches on the ceiling.  
The robot sighed out some grey and white wispy steam, his body ticking nicely as his boiler gently bubbled, barely audible under his clothes.  
He pulled the brim of his hat down slightly, optics glowing in the shadow cast by the peaked cap, jolting upright when he heard running footsteps.

"I'm back, Dippertron!" Mabel sang, flask of water in hand.  
"How about you unpack and relax? We can just chill for the rest of the day" she added.  
"I like the sound of that" Dipper said with a nod.

"Mabel?" Dipper utted while he unpacked his things.  
"Hm?" Mabel looked up from her own bag, pulling out a selection of sparkly posters and craft items.  
"Will I....have to hide what I am for the rest of the summer?" he asked, a hint of sadness in his tone.  
"I mean, what if the other humans find out? We were pretty lucky they didn't last time..."  
"Find out what?" came a gruff voice which startled both of the twins, Mabel jumping into Dipper's cold arms with a startled shriek.

It took everything in Dipper not to spout a startled string of binary.

"U-uh, um, no-nothing!" Dipper stammered,carefully placing Mabel down.  
Stan squinted slightly, suspicious.  
"Well, ok. Dinner's going to be ready soon. Come down when you're ready" he said, leaving them to it.

Mabel wiped the sweat from her brow in relief, causing Dipper to mirror the action.

That.  
Was.  
Close.


	3. Malfunction!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quiet afternoon at the diner turns into a catastrophe when Dipper goes through his first malfunction in six years. What will happen to him and Mabel?

Mabel nestled on the comfy yellow recliner next to her metal brother, who was observing the characters on Ghost Harassers; the robot seemed to be fascinated by the techniques used by the two ghost hunters within the documentary, though he didn't seem fazed by the ghosts and apparitions appearing in view of the two men.

At some points, Dipper's mouth seem to flicker as if in a ghost of an amused smile, a soft chuckle escaping his vocals at a few points during the programme.

Mabel on the other hand looked simply bored.  
She yawned deeply into her right sleeve, looking back at her brother, who had rotated his head and torso in her direction, cogs whirring and generating a satisfying clockwork sound, like a wind-up toy's key.

"Bro-bro, can we go outside?" she asked, pleadingly looking into Dipper's photo-receptors.  
Dipper tilted his head like a lost puppy -again making the winding sound- and gazed at Mabel.

"Outside?" he repeated.  
"Yeah, outside. I know you like to go into the forest and stuff, so why don't we go together?" she suggested, seeing Waddles amble in and lay down below where his mistress sat.  
Heck, anything was better than watching re-runs! and besides, she had a feeling that the show was staged, anyways.

Dipper looked out the window, seeing the calm mackerel sky, sunlight filtering through the fluffy cumulus clouds, seeing an ominous-look cumulonimbus storm cloud in the distance.  
With a sigh of steam -that, ironically, smelled of cola and pine trees- he looked back at his human twin, a grin on his lips.  
"Alright! but we gotta be-be-be careful. A storm's coming soon, by the l-l-l-looks of it" he commented.  
"Whatever you say, ro-bro!" Mabel chirped, kicking her legs up so she rebounded on her feet on the carpet like a gymnast.  
Dipper got up immediately after, walking with Mabel towards the door.  
The girl wrapped her hand around Dipper's cold metal digits, trying to drag him towards the door quickly. Both brother and sister ran outside and towards the town.

Many of the townsfolk were out on daily errands, visiting friends or just enjoying the temporary sunny weather of the day. Children ran around playing games that neither Mabel nor Dipper could immediately identify, birds flitting from tree to tree and singing to the high clouds.

It was truly wonderful. That's what it was.

Mabel twirled around excitedly, Dipper puffing out some steam with a grin.  
"Race you to the diner, Dippertron!!" Mabel sang, earning a chuckle from her brother in return.  
"You're on!!" he called back playfully as he ran after Mabel as fast as his hydraulics would allow him. Mabel giggled and moved quicker, Dipper following suit.

When they got to the diner-surprisingly at the same time- Mabel entwined her hand with Dipper's again, both of them walking into the diner and sitting down.  
Only a few customers were inside the diner, the few waitresses seeming to breeze through orders put forward by the hungry patrons at the booths and tables.

Dipper watched as Lazy Susan approached them with her usual smile, her open eye glinting in a friendly manner.

"Hello, kids! what can I get for you?" she asked, holding her notepad and pencil in one pudgy, wrinkled hand. Mabel flashed a braces-filled grin at her.  
"I'll have the pancakes" she requested, Dipper seeming to peruse the menu in a matter of seconds, curious.  
"And what about you, my dear?" Lazy Susan asked Dipper, the male turning his head to the waitress, glancing at his sister before back at Lazy Susan.  
"I'll have s-some water" he told her, as calm as can be.  
"You sure that's all ya want, honey?" Susan asked, writing it down, Mabel nodding.  
"Yeah, he's gonna share with me!" she half-lied. Lazy Susan shrugged and went to get to work on the orders.

"Aah, this is so lovely! you, me, a few raccoons rushing in and out, and a nice view" Mabel chirped, Dipper chuckled softly, exhaling a discreet cloud of steam.  
It disappeared before anyone saw.

"Yes, it's really nice. And I get t-t-t-to be with my-my sister" he said, trying his best to hide the stammer.  
Something was going on with his gears, he could feel it.  
Maybe that's what was causing him to stammer?

He'd have to look at that later. Mabel seemed to catch on, placing a hand over his own cold metal hand.  
"Dipper, you don't look so good. Is everything ok?" she asked.  
Dipper nodded, but didn't meet his twin's eyes.  
"Dipper?.... Mason?" Mabel urged, using the metal male's real name.  
"I-I'm ok" he murmured, head ticking harshly to the right twice.  
"Y'sure?" Mabel enquired, furrowing her brow at her brother's words in addition to the erratic movement of his head and neck. She could hear his shoulder creaking too.  
Hopefully she could try and get him back to the shack before anyone notices and take a look.

At least, that's what she desired to do...though fate had other plans.

Dipper stood abruptly, turning and quickly walking out of the diner as soon as Lazy Susan came over to place the food and drinks on their table. She looked concerned, turning her head only to catch the tail-end of Dipper disappearing out of the doorway, looking back at Mabel.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, a little worried.  
Mabel gulped down the lump in her throat and sighed, staring up at the elderly waitress.

"U-um, Dipper didn't feel so well, he had to step out" Mabel half-lied, paying for the meal to go before offering a brief apology and sprinting after her robotic twin.

It had gotten worse now. Much worse.

Dipper's movements spasmed to the point he was out of control, foul-smelling smoke pouring out of his mouth while he made a beeline for the woods. An ear-splitting screech left his vocoder, starling families of birds and other woodland critters in the process.  
Mabel watched a cloud of sparrows flit from the tree they were roosting in, hoping to God nobody else would come and investigate.  
She kept running, until she got to Dipper who was still twitching and exhaling smoke.  
His optics bore no recognition of his twin whatsoever, and this scared Mabel quite considerably.

"Bro-Bro! Hey, hey, it's ok, just calm down" Mabel cooed soothingly, her hands up in a defensive way. Dipper stared at her; insides juddering, smoke billowing, eyes flashing.  
She inched closer, trying her best not to flinch as Dipper harshly jerked his head to one side, his left arm twitching in synch. His optics flashed green and red like traffic lights performing Morse Code.  
"It's ok" she hummed, reaching behind his neck and pressing a tiny button located at the base of his cranium.  
In an instant, Dipper's photoreceptors drooped closed and his body slouched as he got pulled into stasis.  
He was silent and as still as a churchyard once more.

Mabel breathed a sigh of relief and wiped a few beads of sweat from her forehead with her sweater sleeve.  
"That was too close" she said to herself.  
Dipper had had a few malfunctions in the past.  
But, oh boy, this was the worst so far! Mabel couldn't help but feel there were worse to come.  
She swallowed down a lump in her throat which had formed at this thought, running back to the shack and coming back with a toolbox just in the nick of time.

"Ok, now Dad said to open the panel on your torso to look at your insides, Dip. Wish I watched him repair you more often" she lamented softly, creaking open the front of Dipper's torso after he was carefully laid on a long, flat boulder.

Inside him was a confusing maze of gears and clockwork which ticked away, a boiler bubbling and hissing in place of his stomach.  
His teal heart-shaped core glowed, the matter safely behind the thick glass so she couldn't get infected.  
She stared blankly, brow furrowed in confusion.  
"Alright..." She mumbled, reaching into the tool box and grabbing a wrench.

That is, until a shadow was cast over her and her robotic brother, blotting out the golden sunlight.


	4. Accomplice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Looks like Dipper is in need of repairs. And who can help fix him but Mabel and....SOOS?!
> 
> ** A/N: Thank you ever-so much for the kind and interested comments on here. I sure love looking at them and I thoroughly enjoy writing replies as well as the fiction itself. This mini AU is a thrill to write and create, and I love it to pieces. Wanna create art for this soon.  
> I know it's a slow drag before any references, but better to take time than to rush I s'pose, heh.  
> Stay tuned and enjoy! :D **

"What's going on, Mabel?" Came the voice behind the female. Mabel froze, closing Dipper's cavity on his torso, turning around.  
The automaton seemed unresponsive, as if he was in a deep form of stasis, no longer breathing any steam though his facial expression showed sleepy content.  
With her heart thudding and a dry mouth, she stared up at the shadowy figure who appeared to tower over them like a giant. Making out the shape of the person's body, they seemed to be a heavyset male.

"Mabel? Dood, please say something, you're freaking me out" came the familiar voice of.....Soos?!  
Mabel sighed in relief and held her chest, feeling her painfully fast heartbeat slow down, gulping slightly. She offered a shaky smile to the handyman, standing up a little straighter in front of her brother like a protective mother wolf.

"Soos, thank God it's just you!" Mabel sighed, a shaky chuckle escaping her lips.  
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you or anything, girl dood. I just got worried about ya, so I asked Mr Pines if I could find where you are. After all, can't have you guys hurt....." his words trailed off, catching sight of the unconscious automaton on the rock behind Mabel.  
"What happened?" Soos asked, walking to stand on the other side, toolbox in hand.

Mabel quickly twisted around, about to protest, but watched as he carefully lifted Dipper's arm, holding it in his strong hands as gently as he could. His warm skin could feel the cold of the iron, titanium-alloy and copper; malleable yet strong. Could give way to rust, though.  
Mabel looked worried, stroking Dipper's synthetic brown locks affectionately.  
"He, uh.... h-he had a malfunction" Mabel admitted. Soos frowned in concern.  
"Poor dude. I can help you, if you like? I know a thing or two about fixing stuff, that's why Mr Pines took me on" he said. Mabel nodded, re-opening Dipper's chest cavity.

Almost immediately, Soos swiftly and expertly rooted through his workings, until he found the problem; a few gears had slipped out of place and were knocking against the boiler, causing the smoke to flow from Dipper's mouth earlier on. A few wires had snapped in the process too; luckily his core was untouched.

Mabel couldn't help but feel impressed, albeit a little jealous, all the while Soos continued to repair the damage.

Within minutes, Soos signalled for Mabel to close the cavity tightly.

Pressing the tiny switch located at the base of Dipper's neck, the two watched in nervous anticipation for the automaton to reactivate.

A violent hiss was heard, hot steam leaving Dipper's cheek vents. Unlike before, it smelled sweetly of pine trees and cola, making Mabel hum in content despite herself.

His fingers twitched and he let out a few coughs, his green photoreceptors opening soon after.

"W-what happened? M-Mabel?" Dipper whimpered, sounding like a child who'd woken from a nightmare. Mabel hugged Dipper as tightly as she could, her robotic brother looking a little stunned. Without prompts, Dipper curled his arms around his human 'twin'.  
"Don't scare us like that again!" Mabel sobbed, her face buried in the crook of his neck.

Dipper looked at Soos, then back at Mabel, memories running through his mind of the malfunction, how terrified he and Mabel must had been. An uncomfortable clenching feeling was present in his teal core, and he looked down guiltily.  
"I-I'm sorry, Mabel" he murmured, gears ticking softly from under his chassis.

He then pivoted his head in Soos' direction, a small smile on his black and silver lips.  
"Thank you, Soos, for fixing me" he said softly, the harmonics in his voice making him sound soothing and less computerized, slipping his shirt back on once Mabel had let go of him.  
"It's no problem, dude. And don't worry, your secret is safe with me" he promised sincerely.  
With a winding noise, Dipper nodded once in gratitude.  
He stood up, taking a few uneven steps like a mariner returning to land after a long voyage, his walking becoming a little more smooth though still a little mechanical.

Mabel watched, carefully looking for any danger, and walked alongside her brother, Soos following with the toolbox in his hand. All three walked back towards the shack, not many people were out by now. Once they had got to the shack, both the twins watched out the window, seeing the weather changing in an almost ominous manner.  
As Dipper had predicted, a storm was slowly rolling in, the sky turning from a pleasant blue to a storm-streaked grey and black mass of clouds, thunder rumbling overhead.


End file.
